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^.C. SANITARY COMjMISSION. 
3\ro, 20. 



Office (if the Sanitahv Coinimission, 

Treasvij/ Bnildin;/, Washington., Jnltj 29, LSGl. 
At :i iiieetiiiji cil' the Commission, held this day, the followina; res( 
liitions wevp pnssed umiiiimnusly, and ordered to be printed. 

FRED. i.AW OLMSTED. 7?^.s. Ser. 



/^f.<(i/i(/i'i>ris pas.^cd hji S<niit<iri/ Cuumii/tcr in Sfssio/i, M(>n(h(t/, .liili/ ^1\^, 
and ordered to l>r Kfnt fn f/ir. Frc^^ident, UecuU of the Dppartmrnis, 
and to hotli TIoiiAii!. <d' Conc/ress. 

Jiesofred, That the Sanitary Commission, in their endeavors to pro- 
mote temperance, cleanliness, and comfort among the troops, have be- 
come convinced that the first sanitary law in camp and among soldiers 
is niilitori/ discipline; and that unless this is vigorously asserted and 
enforced, it is useless to attempt and impossible to effect, by any sec- 
ondary means, the great end they ])roposo — which is the health and 
hap]iiness of the army. 

Jlrxolrcd, That looking only tn the hcaltli and cDnifnrt of tlio troopo, 
it is our profound conviction that any special n-laxation of military 
discipline in favor of volunteer troops, liased eitliei- upon their sup 
])jsed unwillingness or iual)ility to endure it, or u])on the alleged ex- 
pectation of the public, is a fallacious policy, and iraught with peril to 
the lives of the men and the success of the national cause; and that, 
speaking in the name of the families and the communities from which 
the volunteers come, and in the name of humanity and religion, we 
implore that the most thorough system of military discipline be carried 
out with the officers and men of the volunteer force, as the first and 
essential condition of their health, comfort, and morality. 

Resolved, That the health and ccunfort and efficiency of the men is 
mainly de])endent on the uninteri u])ted presence, the personal watch- 
fulness, and the ri^id authority of the regimental and company officers ; 



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and thai all the p;rcat delects, whether iu the eoimnissariat ur in the 
poliee of camps, are radically due to the absence ol' officers from their 
post:^ and to the laxity of the discipline to which they are themselves. 
ac'cuHtomcd — a laxity which would never be tolerated among regulars, 
and which, while tolerated among our soldiers, will make our force a 
crowd of armed men rather than an army. 

Resohed, That it is the public conviction of this Commission, that 
the soldiers themselves, in their painful experience of the want of 
leaders and protectors, Would heartily welcome a rigid discipline exerted 
over their officers and themselves ; that the public would hail with joy 
the inauguration of a decisive, prompt, and rigid rule, extending alike 
to officers and men ; and that any despondency or doubt connected 
with our military and national prospects, or with the health and secu- 
rity of our troops, would disappear with the first indications of rigid 
order enforced with impartial authority throughout the whole army. 

Resolved, That the Sanitary Commission assure Major General 
McClellan in advance, of all the moral support and sympathy of their 
numerous constituents, and beg him to believe that the humane, the 
intelligent, the religious, the patriotic, will uphold his hands in every 
endeavor to communicate a spirit of subordination, fidelity, and obe- 
dience to the troops, even by resort, if found necessary, to the utmost 
rigor of military law, believing that the health, comfort, and efficiency 
of the army are all united in their dependence on a strict, uniform, 
and all-pervading military discipline. 



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SANITARY COMMISSION, 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 703 074 3 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 703 074 3 • 



